Liability
by Permianera
Summary: AU. Ming hua and Ghazan do not die in the final battle, but they are recaptured. Fortunately for them, some people were not okay with their former prisons.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Another AU fic where the members of the Red Lotus get a different ending from the series. (Yes all of them). There will be Mingzan and some Pheer. Unfortunately, like many others I got attached to the season 3 villains. Normally I'm not a shipper but damn it, I liked both Pheer and Mingzan. There will be head canons because we didn't get backstories for Ming hua and Ghazan and we got one sentence for P'li. (Damn it! Forget this Avatar stuff I want that story!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Korra

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><p>Ghazan watched as the two teenagers ran from the cave. As soon as they were out of sight, he stopped the cave from collapsing and cooled the lava he had created. When he saw that the firebender arrive to help his brother he knew that something must have happened to Ming hua. Zaheer would be very angry at him for throwing the battle like that, but he didn't care.<p>

Ghazan ran into the direction he had seen Ming hua and the firebender run while fighting. Looking around, he saw hole that led down to a pool of water. She had to be down there. He took a deep breath and jumped down, worried about what he might find.

He looked around quickly and saw her body lying next to the pool of water. He ran over and picked up her up. She gave a little groan as he did. Good, she was still alive, though she was barely conscious and soaking wet. He felt for a pulse and it was very rapid. He also noticed that there were lightning scars on her neck. _That kid was a lightning bender! Why did he wait till now to use it?_

"Ming hua, you need to heal yourself." He said urgently. She didn't move.

"Come on," He pleaded and felt himself starting to panic. "Don't leave me."

He eyes slightly opened and she frowned. The water on her glowed, healing her just enough to put her vitals back to normal. Her head then fell back wards and her eyes closed.

"Ok good." Ghazan said feeling relieved. Her heart rate was back to normal and her breathing was stronger. She was still badly injured but at least he didn't have to worry about her dying. Now he would just have to wait for Zaheer to defeat the avatar and then he could move Ming hua to a more comfortable place.

He held her close to him, trying his best to keep her warm. He had wanted to do this for so long, but not like this. Not after she had nearly died, their plans had gone awry, and P'li with dead. He wondered what had happened to P'li. How could she have been killed? It wasn't like her to get careless. If she had been there when the avatar had been forced into the avatar state this all would have been over quickly. But that didn't matter, she was gone. Zaheer would never be the same again, Ming hua wouldn't take it well once reality set in, and he himself would miss her. She was after all one of his closest friends. Their group would not be the same.

Suddenly, he felt something hit him in the back of the head and his vision went black.

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><p>"Alright, go get them." Suyin ordered Kuvira and the other metal benders with her. "And check to see if that water bender is still alive."<p>

"Yes ma'am." Kuvira responded and led the group over to the criminals. "She's alive, but she's badly injured. I don't think she'll be too much trouble for us."

"The air ship should have arrived, get them there quickly before either wakes up." Su commanded. "And make sure all precautions are taken in their cells."

Ming hua woke up. She could feel that she was lying in a very comfortable bed, though she could hardly enjoy it because her body was in pain. She rolled over and opened her eyes trying to remember what had happened.

Her face flushed as she remembered her last fight with that firebender. That damn kid had won. How was she supposed to know he could lightning bend? She could only hope that Ghazan or Zaheer had killed him. Her face flushed harder. Great what was Ghazan thinking when he found her nearly dead? Zaheer was probably going to be disappointed that she had lost to a teenager. And why did Ghazan have to beg her to live? She'd have rather died after losing to a teenager.

"Do you need help getting up?" A woman's voice startled her.

Ming hua felt herself go cold. That voice was vaguely familiar. Despite the pain, she forced herself up using her core strength. Her back hurt from being slammed into the rock by the avatar, but she managed to stabilize herself sitting on the bed. She also noticed that her feet were bound up with a metal contraption and tethered to the floor.

There were four women in the cell with her. One she recognized as the leader of Zaofu, she thought her name was Suyin. She was standing next to a woman who had similar looks. The two other women stood very close to her on each side looking as though they were ready to restrain her if needed.

Ming hua quickly looked around for water but there was none. Her mouth was completely dry and she was not a blood bender. Not that there was a full moon for blood bending to even be a possibility. Attempting to run was not a possibility.

"The women next to you are chi blockers." Suyin said firmly. "I suggest that you not try anything."

"Where am I? What happened?" Ming hua asked glaring at them. She had just noticed that she was wearing different clothes. Light green shirt with dark green pants. Prison clothes. They were a size too big for her.

"You're on an airship, we've taken you and your friends into custody." Suyin responded.

Ming hua's eyes widened. They had lost? Zaheer had lost? P'li's death, those thirteen years in prison, all they had worked for had been for nothing?

"So you're taking me back to that prison?" Ming hua tried to keep her voice strong, but it was very noticeably cracking. The thought of prison filled her with dread. All those years being dehydrated, getting very little water, having no privacy, the heat, how difficult it was to breath, not having her water arms to do anything, having a sponge shoved into her mouth every hour to give her a little bit of hydration, having to eat what little food they gave her like some kind of animal, the times she thought she was going to die. No she couldn't live that way for the rest of her life. It was doubtful that Zaheer would escape again considering that last time no one expected him to one day become air bender.

"I can't go back there," Her voice was getting smaller and she broke eye contact. "I can't do it again. Don't send me there!" She knew she was sounding desperate and she hated it. _Damn it Ghazan, why did you let us get captured again?_

The woman next to Suyin spoke. "After everything you did, why should we not send you back to prison! What you did was-"

"Lin." Suyin interrupted then looked back at Ming hua. "Don't worry; I'm not turning you over to the White Lotus. This air ship is on its way to Zaofu."

Ming hua noticed Lin give Suyin a look.

"When we get there, we'll put you in a maximum security cell for water benders. The air will be dry, but it will be much more comfortable than your last prison. And we'll only have women guarding your cell." Suyin explained. "When the avatar recovers in a few weeks, she will remove your water bending and you'll be moved to a more comfortable cell."

Ming hua's widened and look at her right shoulder, and then her left shoulder. "How am I supposed to do anything without my water bending?"

"We can get you a caregiver, prosthetics, or whatever you prefer." Suyin continued. Her voice was softening.

Ming hua frowned. She thought the days of someone helping her out with everything were long gone. Waterbending had given her freedom to live her own life. Now the thought of it being taken from her was agonizing. It had been years since she had used her legs and feet to do anything for herself. Once she learned to water bend, she solely used that to accommodate and she stopped using any other techniques she had learned to adapt.

"Where are Ghazan and Zaheer?" She suddenly asked. She wasn't sure how Ghazan had been captured. She thought he had taken care of those two teenagers. He was there begging her to heal so there was no way he lost to that earth bender.

"Zaheer was taken into custody by the White Lotus. The earth bender is in another cell. I'm sorry, but we can't let you two see each other yet." Suyin replied.

So Ghazan was with her. Zaheer was probably going back to his prison, only they would now have to deal with him as an air bender. She did not want to think about what they would have to do to contain him. Then again, she knew he spent most of his previous imprisonment in the spirit world and she had a little bit of resentment towards him for that. His prison time was easy compared to hers, Ghazan's and P'li's.

"I suggest you don't try anything foolish." Suyin continued her eyes locked on Ming hua. "If you try to escape or attack anyone, we won't be able to keep you in Zaofu."

"Can I heal myself."

"When you get to your cell, we'll let you heal. I'm sorry, but considering how dangerous you are we just can't take any chances." Suyin responded. "For now, just get some rest. Do you need help lying back down?"

"No!" Ming hua said quickly.

With that, Suyin, Lin and the chi blockers left. Two guards stood outside the cell door.

Ming hua had to let herself fall back onto the bed. It hurt as she landed but she was not asking anyone for help. She was still bitter from losing and she wasn't sure if they were being honest. Maybe they just wanted her to cooperate.

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><p>Su and Lin walked quietly away from Ming hua's cell. When they were far enough away that no one near the cell would hear them, Lin spoke.<p>

"Are you seriously bringing her and that earth bender back to Zaofu? They nearly killed Korra and several others!"

"Yes Lin I am." Suyin responded a hint of nervousness in her voice. "Zaofu has the facilities to hold both. I'm confident they won't escape."

"I don't get it, why do you even want that responsibility? If they were to escape again, it won't look good for you!" Lin added. "You wanted me to visit her cell with you because you were concerned that she would find water. We were lucky she was still waking up when we got there."

Su sighed. Luckily, Ming hua was unconscious when they had found her. Water benders were especially difficult to detain. They had quickly taken precautions, making sure she was completely dry, getting rid of any source of water in the room, and binding up her legs. Still, she was very resourceful and Su had wanted Lin there just in case Ming hua had found any water. The human body was after all, mostly made of water and Su wasn't sure what lengths she would go to get any.

"The prisons that the White Lotus kept them in were very inhumane. We can do better at Zaofu. There is no point in locking someone up like that for the rest of their life." Su paused. "And even if Korra does remove their bending and they were to go to another White Lotus prison, I don't know if that woman would be safe without her water bending."

Su had seen many jails and prisons in her travels. She knew how dangerous other inmates and the guards could be.

"You know, she did hold Opal hostage and threatened with one of her icicles." Lin reminded raising her eye brow.

"I know." Su said shortly. "Opal won't have any contact with her."

"Are you going to try to bring Zaheer to Zaofu?" Lin was slightly sarcastic.

"Zaheer is way too dangerous for our prisons, even without his air bending." Su responded. "Besides, the White Lotus already have him, they won't give him up." Su thought for a moment. "We wouldn't have been able to imprison the combustion bender humanely either." She sighed and looked away from Lin.

"You don't feel guilty about that do you?" Lin asked.

"I'd rather her than you, but I don't like killing people." Su said sadly. "People don't just join anarchist groups without reason. It's very likely that something happened in each of their lives that led to them to joining the Red Lotus."

Lin looked at her resigned. "I hope you know what you're doing."

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><p>AN: I figured of all the characters, Suyin is the most likely to disapprove of the prisons they were held in. In fact, if any had made a heel face turn in the series, I figured that they would have ended up in Zaofu because Su lets former criminals live there.<p>

As far as the prison outfits, they look the same as the ones the prisoners wore at the boiling rock, only in Earth Kingdom colors.

I'm sending them to prison first so I can have other Avatar characters interact with them. They won't be there the entire fic.


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Legend of Korra.

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><p>Ming hua sat in her cell. Earlier, right before she was moved from the air ship, she was unknowingly sedated. Before the air ship had landed, she was given a drink of water and she was so thirsty that she didn't even think that something could have been added to it. On her way to her cell, she was escorted by several guards; one had her hand on the back of her neck. She thought the precautions were completely unnecessary. She hadn't yet healed herself, she had no water, and she felt like she could have fallen asleep while standing. She was surprised that she even made it to her cell and she fell asleep almost as soon as she had arrived.<p>

The prison cell wasn't too bad. The air was dry and a bit cold, but it was much better than the volcano prison. Anything was better than the volcano prison. She was given a cup full of water with a straw to drink. There were two doors to her cell, the outer one was the bars you would traditionally see on a jail cell and the inner was a solid sliding door if she wanted privacy. The bed was more comfortable than she would have thought.

The walls were boring. They were just pure platinum. She wondered how long it would take before she got sick of looking at them.

Ming hua got up off her bed walked to a small shelf in her room that contained three books titled "The Founding of Omashu." (_Who cared_), a picture book with various photos of earth kingdom scenery (boring) and "The Life Story of Avatar Aang." She frowned at the last one. She hated avatars, why would she have any interest in that? She instead made up her own story about how Avatar Aang had several secret affairs around the world as a way to keep the air nomad culture alive, and that was where the air benders from harmonic convergence came from. Putting more thought into this story, she realized that that made Avatar Aang Zaheer's father and in a strange way, the current Avatar his father. She quickly brushed the thought out of her head because it was too weird. Besides, there was one huge flaw, the new air benders would have gotten their air bending at birth, not at harmonic convergence.

There was also a Pai Sho board on the bottom shelf. Why was that there? This was a single person cell, who would anyone play the game with? Pai Sho was boring anyway. She remembered when Zaheer and P'li would play the game and it would take hours. Most of their game time was spent just staring at the board. She had no patience for it.

She suddenly remembered P'li and that she was now gone. She couldn't believe that her friend had been defeated nor could she think of what had happened. P'li wasn't one to get careless. Another thought came to her. Maybe Zaheer was wrong? Maybe he had only thought she had died and she was actually still at Laghima's peak wondering where the hell they were.

The doors to her cell opened and two guards walked in. Two more guards waited outside her cell.

"These should fit you better," One of the guards sat a new set of clothes on her bed. "This is the smallest size we have."

Ming hua just glared at them. She wasn't in the mood for dealing with anyone.

"Do you need help getting those on?" The guard asked not looking happy.

"If I needed your help I would ask." Ming hua said coldly.

"Ok whatever." The guard replied rolling her eyes. The two guards left and closed both doors.

Ming hua looked at the new set of clothes. It had been a very long time since she had changed her clothes without her water arms. But she was not going to have someone help her with every damn thing in her life. It was difficult, especially with still being sore, but she managed it.

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><p><em>1 week later<em>

Su was exasperated. She had just left Republic City and was on her way back to Zaofu. Earlier she had spoken to both Tonraq and Tenzin and they were not happy.

She remembered bits of the conversation.

_"How can you just keep those two in your custody? That's a resort! Not a prison!" Tonraq yelled. "Those two nearly killed my daughter!"_

_ "I understand how angry you are with what they did to Korra. But the solution to this is not to lock them for the rest of their lives in inhumane conditions " Su responded. "That waterbender was emaciated. We have better ways in Zaofu and they will not be a danger to anyone."_

_ "I don't care! What they did was inhumane! Those two deserve it!" Tonraq spat. His face was red with anger. "That combustion bender should be lucky that she's dead!"_

_ Su frowned. She completely understood how he felt. Korra was still in very bad shape and it looked like her recovery was going to take a very long time._

_ "Su, they put the entire air nation in danger, my children included. My wife had a baby with her!" Tenzin reminded. _

_ "Tenzin, doesn't air nomad culture abhor violence?" Su raised her eyebrow at him._

_ "That's not violence!" Tenzin shot back but sounded very unsure. "As soon as Korra recovers, we'll get them out of their White Lotus prisons and remove their bending. They can be moved to another prison."_

_ "Listen, I've been in many prisons in my lifetime. " Su began. "The earthbender would probably do fine, but the waterbender, she won't stand a chance without her waterbending." _

_ "If she didn't want to go to prison, she shouldn't have joined a violent anarchist group." Tonraq concluded. _

_ "You don't know either of their reasons for joining." Su replied. _

_ "Can we at least interrogate them again?" Tenzin asked. "Give them the option to speak and stay in Zaofu, or go back to their White Lotus prisons."_

_ "If they choose to remain silent, then I would have to turn them over to the White Lotus." Su responded. "And they didn't break after thirteen years, what makes you think they will now?"_

_ "They are given a more comfortable prison, and then are told they will have to go back to their old prisons. Surely that would give them the incentive?" Tenzin pointed out._

_ "No I'm not doing that." Su replied. "I don't believe in torture." She paused and her eyes narrowed. " And if any member of the White Lotus sets foot in Zaofu's prison without my permission I will consider it an act of aggression."_

Su sat back hoping that she wasn't making a big mistake. She had lost sleep over the fear that those two would find a way to escape, or worse, seriously injure someone else at the prison. She also knew that they weren't fond of world leaders and that if they did get out, her family could be in danger. Anytime someone expressed concerns about Zaofu's ability to keep them locked up put more doubt in her head. But with the way they had both reacted at the thought of going back to their old prisons, she just couldn't give up. _Zaofu's prisons are very secure. _She kept telling herself.

She had spoken to a few of the guards that stood outside their cells and learned that the waterbender was very quiet and sulked most of the day. Any attempt to talk to her was met with sarcastic remarks. The earthbender on the other hand was very friendly, which both relieved and worried her. She hoped that he wouldn't be able to talk anyone into letting him out. That was one of the many reasons she could never keep Zaheer in Zaofu.

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><p><em>2 weeks later<em>

Ghazan, despite hating the fact that he was now back at prison, had to admit that this one wasn't the worst place to be locked up. The food was good, the guards weren't half bad, and he was allowed to interact with other inmates. The place was built to house earth benders, especially metal benders. There was no way he was escaping. It made him a bit angry that the White Lotus couldn't provide the similar accommodations and instead, chose the most agonizing methods possible. Sitting in the hot sun day after day was torturous, though he had to admit, Ming hua and P'li had it much worse.

He was allowed out in the prison yard with three guards escorting him. The first time he was out, he looked to see if there would be a way to escape. But the walls were too high and everything was made of platinum. He wouldn't leave without Ming hua anyway, and they were probably not going to let her outside of her cell block until she was no longer a waterbender.

He did worry about Ming hua. They were both cut off from their bending and could soon permanently lose it. As much as it hurt him to lose his, he worried more about her. He had hoped that she wasn't sitting helplessly in her cell, unable to do anything. He was assured that she would have help with whatever she needed, but he still worried. He knew she would hate having others care for her.

Bolin came to visit him. He first showed up apologizing for being the reason Ghazan was back in prison and asked if he could help with his lava bending. Bolin explained that he had destroyed an entire building while practicing, which Ghazan found very amusing. So he had been giving Bolin lava bending tips. The kid was the only other lava bender that he knew of so he didn't mind helping him out and it did give him something to do. He was still spending most of the day in his cell and it was very boring. In return, Bolin would bring items that Ghazan wanted.

"It's a shame that we can't go outside and practice." Bolin said on one of his visits.

Ghazan sighed. "They're not going to let me get anywhere near earth until after your friend gets better. But then, what would be the point."

Bolin was silent.

"Hey could you do me a favor?" Ghazan asked.

"Uh sure." Bolin responded.

"Can you check on Ming hua for me and maybe talk to her for a little bit?" Ghazan requested. "I don't think that there are any other water benders in this prison and she isn't going to get any visitors."

Bolin gulped. "I can do that, but… she kind of scares me."

"Yeah she's a little intimidating at first, but she's easy to figure out." Ghazan laughed.

"If you say so." Bolin replied still not sure.

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><p>AN: Sorry if that was a little slow. Also, please don't hate Tenzin or Tonraq, they have every right to be pissed at any members of the Red Lotus. It had only been a week since fighting Zaheer and Korra had almost died. It would be ridiculous if either of these characters were just okay or indifferent with any members of the Red Lotus not going back to their former prisons. As much as I like the RL, what they did in the last few episodes was not okay. (I'll be writing a few backstories to explain why they joined, but that does not excuse the actions, which is why they are going to spend some time in prison.)<p>

And Ming hua and Ghazan will talk to each other probably in two chapters.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Okay I stressed over this one to get characterization down. And I watched several scenes in book three to figure out these character's personalities. (And what little we got to see of them) And this got rewritten several times. I'll probably read this again and give it more edits. I will happily take any critique.

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><p>The nights were cold and the blanket was not enough to keep her warm. Ming hua couldn't believe that was her biggest problem. While the cold was much better than the heat she had experienced the past thirteen years, it was still uncomfortable. She found herself tossing and turning all night trying to fall asleep.<p>

The walls were beginning to drive her nuts with how plain they were and she was starting to get bored. The first two weeks were nice to have to herself; she wasn't sure when the last time was that she slept without others in the same room or being surrounded by guards. Yes there were guards outside of her current cell, but she could keep the door closed and not have to see them. Now, she was keeping the solid door open more often so she could at least eaves drop on their conversations. It wasn't much but it gave her something to do.

She was surprised one day when one of the guards knocked on the door and announced that she had a visitor.

"Can we open?" The guard asked.

"Uh sure." Ming hua said. A visitor could be interesting. Though there was a possibility that it was just an interrogation.

When the door opened, she was a bit caught off guard to see the earthbender that Ghazan had fought standing on the other side. She remembered when that one comment from him had made the day at Ba Sing Sei awkward and worse, he was that firebender's brother. She thought that his name might be Bolin.

"We'll be down the hall watching." The guards then walked off. "No reaching through the bars."

Ming hua glared at the teenager wondering if he was there to gloat. "What do you want?" She demanded coldly and was very happy to see him shrink up a little.

"Um…" Bolin began and looked as though he were about to start shaking. "Ghazan wanted to know how you were doing."

Ming hua quickly looked away and felt her face redden. "Tell him I'm doing fine." She couldn't help but wonder how or why Ghazan would be talking to this kid.

"Ok, I will tell him that next time I see him." Bolin replied awkwardly.

"Are you two friends?" Ming hua looked at Bolin again with the same icy glare. It wouldn't have surprised her; Ghazan could make friends with anybody.

"Yeah kind of." Bolin responded. "He gives me tips for lavabending, and I bring him things, and we'll talk."

"Oh so he's helping our enemies now." Ming hua said.

"Well kind of yeah." Bolin answered lamely.

There was silence. Ming hua just kept staring at Bolin. She enjoyed watching him break eye contact anytime he tried to look at her.

"How did you lose your arms?" He suddenly blurted out and then his face fell, like he regretted asking the question.

Ming hua felt herself cringe. Of course he was going to ask that. Everyone asked her that question. "I didn't, I never had them."

"Oh so you were born without them?" Bolin said with a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Yes, isn't that what I just said? Sorry it's not some exciting story." Ming hua rolled her eyes. Most people assumed that she had lost both her arms in battle.

"Oh that's okay; it didn't have to be exciting." Bolin said sounding very uncomfortable. He was now looking at the floor. "Maybe I should head out." Bolin started to back up.

Ming hua felt her face soften. "You're leaving already?"

"I uh thought you wanted me to go." Bolin stopped. "You don't seem very happy to see me."

"Well you are part of the reason that I'm back in prison." Ming hua pointed out. "But it is very boring here and talking to you is better than no one."

"Ok I guess I'll stay." Bolin said. He looked more like he was afraid to leave. "And yeah, sorry you're back in prison; I knew you hated it before."

"Why are you apologizing? We would have killed you if we had to."

"I really don't know." Bolin looked down at the ground.

There was another awkward silence. Ming hua was not exactly sure what she was supposed to say to Bolin. She was hoping that he wouldn't bring up the day she and her friends had failed to kill the avatar and she was sure he knew how her last fight with his brother had ended. It made her angry any time she remembered it. One stupid move and she was completely defeated and nearly dead, and from a damn teenager.

"So this place isn't too bad is it?" Bolin asked in an attempt to end the silence.

"It's prison." Ming hua responded a little startled from having her thoughts broken. "There's not much to do but it's much better than that volcano."

"Yeah…" Bolin said. "Yours was probably the worst wasn't it?"

"I don't know, P'li's was pretty bad too." Ming hua responded cringing. "She was kept chained up to the wall in the north pole far underground. I don't know how she didn't freeze to death. After we got her out, she was always looking for ways to be warm." She remembered being angry when she saw P'li's prison. It was the exact opposite of hers and the cold was too much for even her to handle. She did not know how P'li didn't lose her mind from being chained up with metal touching her skin for those thirteen years, but P'li had been in chains through most of her life. If Zaheer had seen how she was kept, he probably would have killed Zuko, Tonraq, and those other two kids at the North Pole that night.

"P'li?" Bolin asked. "Oh the combustion bender."

"I didn't see Ghazan or Zaheer's prison so I'm not sure how they compare. I've only heard what they were like. But Zaheer spent most of his time in the spirit world so I think he had it the best out of all of us." Ming hua continued.

"Yeah that doesn't sound very fair. I mean, he wasn't really in prison if he could just hang out in the spirit world." Bolin agreed.

"Yeah exactly."

They both heard footsteps down the hall and Bolin turned to look turned to look.

"Looks like the guards are coming back and I have to leave. Do you need me to bring you anything?" He paused and his eyes widened. "Except for water, I can't bring you any water."

Ming hua was about to say no but then she thought of something and this was her only chance to get it. "A warmer blanket, it's freezing down here at night and this one isn't any good." She kicked the blanket on her bed that was supplied by the prison.

"Okay I can get you that." Bolin agreed. "I'll see you in a few days then." He began to walk away.

"Wait." Ming hua ordered. There was one last thing she had to know. She saw Bolin stop and she turned her head to look away from him.

"Is P'li really dead?"

Bolin breathed heavily. "From what I heard, there is no way that she could have survived. I'm sorry." He voice was very soft.

"What happened?" Ming hua asked.

Bolin cringed "I don't think you'd want to know that."

"No, I need to know or I'll never accept it." Ming hua demanded turning her head to face him. She would spend part of her day making up scenarios in her head where P'li would show up to break her and Ghazan out of the prison and then they would go search for Zaheer's.

Bolin sighed. "She was fighting Lin and Su. And she was about to kill Lin with one of her combustion blasts, but right as she was firing it off, Su threw her armor over her head…"

Ming hua suddenly turned her whole body away from him, threw her legs up onto the bed and buried her face into her knees. The mental image of it was just too much.

"I'm really sorry." Bolin apologized.

"We're done for today." Ming hua said angrily not turning to look at him. The last thing she needed was for that kid to see her get emotional.

"Okay I'll see you in a few days."

* * *

><p>Ming hua hadn't slept well that night. Learning how P'li's life had ended had been painful. All that hell she had gone through to learn combustion bending only to be killed by it.<p>

_How could she have been so careless? _She thought. _What the hell was Zaheer doing when that had happened? Why weren't she and Ghazan there?_

She wanted to hate Suyin, but the woman had kept her away from the White Lotus, very possibly at her own expense. She felt that she at least had to be grateful.

Although she enjoyed her time alone at first, she was getting bored and sick of her cell. Sometimes she was taken down the hall to the common area for a change of scenery, but there were no other water benders in her cell block. Not that she actually wanted to talk to anyone; the only people she'd want to share a cell block with were Ghazan, P'li and Zaheer. She couldn't believe that she was actually missing those damn Guru Laghima quotes.

Last night was very cold and she wondered when Bolin would come back with that blanket. She didn't hate the earth bending kid but he was still that damn lightning bender's brother. Earlier, she had heard the guards talking about how he had been getting a lot of praise for taking her down and was now regarded as a hero. They talked as though she couldn't hear them, even though the solid door to her cell was open. It made her angrier at the kid. At least with Bolin, she could find out what Ghazan was up to.

_Damn it Ghazan! _She thought suddenly getting angry. _2 out of 3? Really?_ Then of course, Zaheer had to tell them to gag the two kids so that no one could ask further questions. Now she was stuck wondering which two out of three were correct. She knew he had an older sister but she wasn't sure if she raised him. Mustache at ten? That couldn't be right.

Unspoken attraction? She felt her face get red. Before their imprisonment, Ghazan never had trouble getting women. He was good looking and friendly. She on the other hand did not have such luck. Most men walked off once they realized that she didn't have arms and others would approach her and ask very personal questions. The worst were gross older men who were looking for young girls who they assumed to be desperate.

She liked being around Ghazan and they both worked well together. She had a crush on him when they first met but figured he'd never be into her. Still, he was always friendly towards her and they had become very close over time.

She wanted to talk to him and demand answers, but that probably wouldn't happen for a long time. For now she'd just have to make up her own scenarios of what could possibly happen if she had asked him.

Two days later, Bolin finally visited her again. She was able to hear the guards talking through the door.

"You here to visit again?"

"Yes." Bolin she heard Bolin respond.

"What's that." The other guard asked.

"Oh it's for her, she asked me to bring her one."

"I have to check it first."

A few seconds later the guards knocked on the door. "Hey, your friend is here again, can we open?"

"Yeah." Ming hua.

The guard opened the door. "How do you want to take this?" She held the blanket forward.

Ming hua walked to the door. "Put it over my shoulder." She instructed.

The guard did just that. Ming hua tilted her head to the side to hold the blanked between her chin and her shoulder. She walked back to her bed and dropped the blanket on top.

The other guard looked at Bolin. "You have an hour." The guards walked down the hall.

Ming hua looked at the blanket and cringed a little. "This has a rainbow and stars on it."

"Yeah, isn't it cool?" Bolin smiled.

"Um, yeah I guess it is." Ming hua looked back at the blanket. She thought the design was hideous, but it was a blanket, it would work. And he did go out of his way to bring it for her so she wasn't going to complain.

"So how are you?" Bolin asked.

"Bored." She responded, and sat on her bed. "How is Ghazan?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen him yet today." Bolin replied. "But he's been doing well. He talks to a lot of people."

"Of course he does."

"So uh." Bolin looked as though he were trying to find something to say. "Do you still make up stories about the guards here."

"Yes I do." Ming hua replied. "The one with short hair wants to become a professional athlete, and the one with longer hair wants to travel the world sampling every flavor of tea."

"Oh make up a story about me!" Bolin said excitedly.

"You really want me to do that?" Ming hua raised her eye brows. Her stories could get very mean, depending on her mood.

"Yeah go ahead," Bolin replied.

"Ok fine, you once dated the avatar, but she left you for your annoying brother, ever since then you haven't had any other girlfriends and you've been lonely."

Bolin's eyes widened. "Well you got the part about dating the avatar right, and about her leaving me for my brother. But I have dated since then. Although, one was the princess from the Northern Water Tribe, and she was very possessive and much scarier than you, and there was my co-star, but she didn't really want to date me, until I saved the president from being captured. But nothing ever came of that relationship."

Ming hua just kind of blinked. She remembered the two teenagers from the North Pole that she easily over powered when getting P'li out of her prison. She knew they were Unalaq's kids and she couldn't believe that this kid had dated one of them.

"I actually have a girlfriend right now," Bolin continued. "Come to think of it, she's the girl you held hostage at the Air Temple."

Ming hua frowned. "I bet she's thrilled that you have been visiting me."

Bolin's face dropped. "Well, she's been off with the air nomads and I haven't had contact with her in a while, so she doesn't know yet."

Ming hua just looked at him. "She's not going to want you to come here when she finds out."

Bolin looked to be scrambling for something to say and Ming hua wondered if she was really that intimidating. He finally spoke "Oh don't worry about that, once she sees what a nice person you really are, I'm sure she won't care too much."

Ming hua gave a look that said 'really?'

Bolin sighed. "Okay you're right, she probably won't be happy." Bolin thought for a moment. "But she's an air nomad and I think they are supposed to forgive for that sort of thing. She's Suyin's daughter so after her mom-"

"What! That was her daughter!" Ming hua eyes widened and that was the first time Bolin had ever seen her look scared. "Well that's just wonderful."

Bolin put his hand on his forehead. "Don't worry, I think Su already knows."

Ming hua just groaned. "Of all the air nomads I could have chosen, why did it have to be that one?"

"Don't worry about it, I'll tell her you didn't mean to grab her and that you were actually going for someone else." Bolin looked as though he knew he sounded entirely unconvincing.

"You know that's not going to work?"

Bolin sighed "Yeah you're right. But if they do get angry and send you back to your last prison, I'll break you out."

"I don't believe you. I highly doubt you could break into a White Lotus prison, and do you know how much trouble you'd be in if you tried? And don't remind me that I could go back there."

"I'm so sorry, I'm just trying to be nice, but you are just so scary and I just kind of say stuff." Bolin hung his head.

"Why are you so afraid of me? I can't get to you and even if I could there's not much I can do without water." Ming hua asked.

Bolin gulped. "You have this look that you give, and I'm reminded of what you can do with water. And I don't know, the way you snap sometimes…"

Ming hua just groaned. Part of her was happy that she could still intimidate someone, and the other part was annoyed, both at herself and Bolin.

"Hey uh you ever make up a story about Korra… that's the avatar's name." Bolin tried to change the subject.

"I know the avatar's name." Ming hua growled. "But she left your brother after realizing that he was a very bad lover and ran off with that other friend of yours, the girl she was riding on the polar dog with at Misty Palms Oasis."

"Asami?" Bolin's eyes widened. "That would be interesting. But she and my brother are no longer dating, you see, before my brother dated Korra, he was dating Asami, but then he left Asami for Korra, and they dated for six months, broke up and I think he started to date Asami again, but Korra lost her memory and forgot that they had broken up so my brother kissed her and didn't tell her what had happened… and you probably don't care about any of this."

Ming hua blinked at him. That was far better than anything she could have come up with. "Your brother sounds like a real winner." Ming hua finally said rolling her eyes.

They were both quiet again.

"Do you want me to go now?" Bolin asked.

"Why would you leave? There's still time left." Ming hua was a bit annoyed. "What happened with your last fight with Ghazan? I thought he had killed you and your brother. And how did we get caught?"

"Oh, well he was actually winning, and then my brother came back. And almost immediately he said that he was never going back to prison and started collapsing the mountain around us. I think he was trying to fake his death." Bolin explained. "Then the metal clan went to find your bodies but they found him with you and knocked him out. Luckily for them he was completely distracted."

"So he just let you two go?" Ming hua growled.

"Well, I think he was worried about you." Bolin said.

Ming hua looked away and felt her face redden.

The two talked for the rest of the hour. Ming hua wanted to know what was going on in the world, especially in the Earth Kingdom. Bolin told her that the Earth Kingdom was still in chaos, that they were looking at making the Earth Queen's great nephew the new monarch but he wasn't exactly suited for the role, and that Korra was still recovering. Ming hua tried her best not to show that she was happy that the avatar's condition had not improved or that the Earth Kingdom was still in a state of anarchy. But she couldn't help but smile a little bit when those facts were mentioned.

Towards the end, Ming hua said that she was getting bored sitting in her cell day after day.

"Do you have any family that we could contact and maybe they could visit you?" Bolin asked.

Ming hua gave him an icy glare. "You're getting too personal."

"Oh sorry." He apologized. They heard foots steps down the hall. "I'm getting kicked out of here soon."

"Ok." She groaned. The she mumbled. "Thanks for the blanket."

"Hey no problem, but come to think of it, I think the price sticker is still on it somewhere." Bolin replied.

"It's new?" Ming hua responded looking back down at the blanket.

"Yeah, my friend Varrick recommended that brand, it should keep you warm." Bolin explained. "Do you need anything else?"

Ming hua was quiet and then replied. "Utensils. They never give me any. And uh, make sure they are plain."

Bolin looked at her confused. "Okay, I'll bring those next time."

* * *

><p>Bolin had made his way to Ghazan's cell after visiting Ming hua. Ghazan was much too eager to know how his friend was handling everything. He did feel bad that she wasn't able to use her water bending and had he been more careful, they would not have been back in prison.<p>

"How is she?" Ghazan asked before Bolin could say anything.

Bolin cringed. "Well, one minute, the conversation is going great, and then I end up saying something that upsets her. And she still scares me. But I think she's doing fine, all things considered."

"I wouldn't ask her anything about her life." Ghazan suggested. "She's had a lot happen that she doesn't like to talk about."

Bolin's face dropped. "Too late, I asked if she had any family. And she wasn't too happy."

Ghazan's eyes widened knowing that would not have gone over well with her. "Yeah, that's a very sensitive topic. I also wouldn't ask much about her time in her last prison."

"Ok got it." Bolin said. "No family questions and no questions about prison." He paused.

"Is she being treated well?" Ghazan asked. That was his biggest concern. He knew her personality could be a bit much for many people.

"I think so, she usually just says that she's bored." Bolin replied. "Though I not sure if the guards like her that much."

"Yeah that figures." Ghazan sighed.

"By the way, why did you join the Red Lotus? You don't seem the type." Bolin asked.

Ghazan looked at him. "Zaheer, P'li, and Ming hua got me out of prison when I was on death row and at first I figured I owed him, but later when I learned what the Red Lotus was trying to accomplish, I found that I agreed with their goals."

Bolin nearly jumped. "What! You were on death row!"

"Relax; all I did was assault one of the guards who was trying to arrest a family that couldn't pay the taxes. They had a sick kid." Ghazan said sounding way to calm. "Shortly after they arrested me they found out I could lava bend and tried to conscript me into their military. They told me that they would drop all charges if I joined. I told them no. But that is probably the reason I lived long enough for Zaheer, P'li and Ming hua to get to me."

"Wait, you could get the death penalty just for attacking a cop?" Bolin asked in disbelief. "That sounds a bit harsh."

"Yes, at least in Ba Sing Sei you could." Ghazan confirmed. "The cops were not there for the people in the outer rings, but to make sure no rebellions broke out. And many did, though most who participated in them died."

Bolin just looked at him.

"Don't get me wrong, I didn't have a clean record or anything, you'd be lucky to find anyone in the outer ring that did. My sister ran the gang I was in and I did spend some time in jail." Ghazan said.

Bolin was quiet as though he was taking everything in. "You know, my brother and I lost our parents when we were young, and we stole things too. Though it was mostly my brother, I just kept watch. We also ran a few scams."

"Really?" Ghazan looked a little surprised. "I never would have thought you'd be the type."

"Yeah, but it was in Republic City, you could attack the cops and only spend a few days in jail." Bolin said. "My brother actually is a cop now."

"That's a strange job for him to choose." Ghazan commented.

"I guess." Bolin replied not sure what to think.

"So how is your lava bending?" Ghazan changed the subject.

"Well I haven't destroyed anything this past week. " Bolin began, "Except for vegetation."

"You know, she can take smaller pieces of earth and spin it around very fast to make lava. It's less destructive. But only do it if you have good control or else you'll burn yourself."

"I'll try that." Bolin said.

AN: lots of dialogue in this chapter. And Ghazan was the hardest for me to come up with a backstory because he looked like someone who was always on the wrong side of the law. This isn't the full thing. I'll have a few flash backs later.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: This chapter was hard to write and it got several rewrites.

* * *

><p>Suyin stood outside of Ghazan's cell. Korra was back in the South Pole and was showing very little signs of recovery and that it could be a very long time before she would be back in Zaofu. Every day Su was getting asked about the Red Lotus prisoners. Lin was by far the worst, suggesting that they both had had enough time to figure out a way to escape and that the last thing that anyone wanted was to deal with them again.<p>

She had gone to see all four prisons just to see why the White Lotus would be concerned with Zaofu's ability to keep the two detained. Prior, she had only heard about them, and just from what Tenzin had told her, she thought the prisons sounded too extreme. When she actually saw all four prisons, she was horrified. She was only in Ming hua and P'li's prisons for about ten minutes before she could no longer handle the extreme temperatures. After seeing how they had lived for the past thirteen years she figured she could at least see how they were handling their new prisons.

"So how is your stay here?" She asked the earth bender.

"Not bad." Ghazan said. "Best prison I've ever been in."

"Are you being treated well?" Suyin continued.

"I can't complain." Ghazan responded. "But I would like to talk to Ming hua soon. Just to see how she's doing."

"We weren't going to let you two see each other until after Korra visited." Suyin began. "But we may be able to arrange something. It will have to be behind a glass wall and your conversation will have to be monitored."

"It's better than nothing." Ghazan agreed.

* * *

><p>The earth bender seemed to be doing fine. Bolin had said that he was very friendly, and Suyin figured she wouldn't have to worry too much about him. Though she did worry that he might be manipulative, but he seemed very laid back. Many of the guards also liked him. She of course would never trust him.<p>

She wondered if there had been anything going on between him and Ming hua. After he had regained consciousness in the air ship and had been informed that their bending would be removed, he offered to easily give his up if Ming hua could keep hers. She understood why, but there was no way they could let Ming hua keep her water bending without having to keep her in the maximum security section indefinitely.

Suyin sighed. She did have very mixed feelings about having Ming hua's waterbending removed. Her own mother after all was blind and used her earthbending to compensate. Had her mother lost her bending, life would have been much more difficult for her, though Su knew very well that she would find a way to adapt. Now someone who did use their water bending to compensate for their disability was going to have it removed. But it couldn't be helped; Su knew what Ming hua was capable of. Had her mother been a dangerous criminal, there would have been no justification to let her keep her earthbending. The Red Lotus was out to kill world leaders and that may include her and her family. While they could still kill without their bending, it would be much more difficult.

Suyin was also not happy that Bolin had told both Ghazan and Ming hua that she had been the one to kill their friend. The last thing she needed was for either of them to have any motivation to kill her had they ever managed to escape.

The cell door was opened and the waterbender immediately shot her a look. Suyin knew it was meant to say "stay away." A sort of defense mechanism.

She noticed that the cell had gotten quite colorful. She saw a blanket that looked like something Opal would have loved as a child, a multi colored folding chair, a floor mat that was also multi colored and looked to have various animals on it. Suyin knew that Bolin had been bringing her, and she made a mental note to suggest to Opal that if she ever married Bolin, that she do all the decorating.

Suyin then focused on the water bender. "Ming hua," She began keeping her voice strong yet calm. "How is your stay here?" Bolin had described her as scary at first but mellows out with time. Su thought she was intimidating, and was a little impressed that she still managed to have such a presence.

Ming hua breathed. "It's a prison, not much to say. I'm sick of looking at these walls."

"Are you getting the help that you need?" Suyin continued.

"I don't need any help; I can do things just fine." Ming hua sounded annoyed.

"Well good." Suyin responded and was a little curious at how she was managing. "Are you being treated alright?"

"Everyone leaves me alone, so it's fine." She responded. "I want more water to drink though."

"I can give you a little more." Suyin agreed. "When Korra recovers and removes your water bending, we can move you into another part of the prison and you'll then be able to have as much as you want."

"When is that going to happen?" Ming hua's stare suddenly became much more intense. Suyin thought she saw her backing away.

"Not for a while, her recovery is going to take longer than we thought. The poison really did a lot of damage to her."

"Good." Ming hua gave a smug smile.

Suyin's eyes narrowed and she felt herself becoming angry. "I do know that you took my daughter Opal hostage at the air temple. You also put several of my friends in danger in an attack that you and your friends instigated." She paused and then said "I didn't have to take you into custody. And do you how hard it was to convince the White Lotus to let you and your friend stay here?"

She saw Ming hua shrink back and look away. Good, she had broken her a bit. Suyin felt bad for using that tactic, but she was not going to let that woman smile about hurting one of her friends.

"Then why did you bring me here?" Ming hua demanded.

"I don't agree with many of the White Lotus's methods, and what they did to you and your friends was inhumane." Suyin began. "You did many terrible things, but you didn't deserve that." Suyin paused. "And understand that there are not many out there who would agree. In most other prisons, you would not be safe without your waterbending and the staff would not care."

Ming hua looked away again and was quiet.

"It is unfortunate, you're one of the best waterbenders in the world, and you're probably better than Katara was at your age." Suyin began. "It's a real shame that you chose this path."

Ming hua cringed. "You know nothing about that! I didn't have much of a choice!"

"And I'm sorry for whatever happened." Suyin's voice softened. "But you have proven yourself too dangerous and we can't take any unnecessary risks with you. Every day, members from the White Lotus ask if you and your friends are secured. They will find any reason that they can to take custody of you."

Ming hua looked as though she wanted to say something, but was obviously flustered.

"Is there anything we can do to make your time here easier?" Suyin asked.

"Let me out." Ming hua smirked.

Suyin gave her a look.

"Well I can't stand being in here anymore." Ming hua continued. She stood up, walked over to her chair, stepped on the seat, and sat on top of the backrest. "Yeah it's better than my last one, and there is more to do, but it is still boring."

"I understand, and we are trying to figure things out." Suyin said sympathetically. "We are going to let you talk to your friend in a few days. Just know that your conversation will be monitored. We may even let you go into the prison yard in time, of course, you will have several escorts."

"Fine by me." Ming hua rolled her eyes.

"We also might let you got outside into the prison yard in a few days." Suyin continued. "You will have escorts and if you try anything, we'll have to bring you back in."

"Am I a child now?" Ming hua frowned.

"It's for everyone else's safety. You are a very powerful waterbender." Suyin replied trying to flatter her a little. It seemed to work as Ming hua did give another smug smile. "Now is there anything you need?"

"I need slip on shoes, I can't get those on." Ming hua looked over at the shoes the prison had provided her. "I'd ask Bolin, but I'm really afraid of what he would bring me."

"We'll get those for you." Suyin realized that she would have too much difficulty tying the shoes that the prison provided. She also agreed that Bolin would not be the best person to pick out a pair and could only imagine what multicolored mess he would bring.

* * *

><p>A few days later, Ming hua was escorted to the room where she would be allowed to speak to Ghazan. There was so much that she wanted to talk to him about but mostly she wanted answers. She was finally out of that cell block and the air wasn't so dry.<p>

She arrived at the room first. There was a thick glass window that would separate them but she was assured that she would be able to hear him. She wondered how she looked. She was only allowed damp rags for bathing and she needed some help from an aid. And of course, there had to be four guards in the room because a civilian was in her cell and water use was required. The care giver only removed clothing where she was washing and she had towels covering her, but it was still uncomfortable. In order to clean her hair, a dry shampoo was used. Powder was put in her hair to get the oils out and was brushed out after. She was allowed to refuse, but she never did because she did not want to go years without washing ever again.

Ming hua did wish she had a mirror and figured she would have to ask Bolin for one. She hated asking him to bring her things because she couldn't exactly give him anything in return. However, not having most of the stuff he brought her would have made her cell unbearable. Even those awful colors were better to look at than platinum. She made a note to herself to ask for a small mirror or Bolin would probably bring something big and fancy with some obnoxious design. The prison staff might give her a mirror, but she was only allowed to ask for necessities and she wasn't sure if that counted.

Ghazan entered the room on his side and she couldn't help but smile. He sat down across from her.

"Hey." He said smiling back.

"Hey." She replied.

"How are you doing?" He asked.

"Fine." She said. "How are you doing?"

"Good, this sure beats my last prison."

"Indeed it does." Ming hua replied. She was starting to find it a bit amusing that the only thing she could say about Zaofu's prison was that it was better than the White Lotus prison. Anything was better than that prison.

They were silent.

"How did we get captured?" Ming hua finally asked, her voice getting lower. "What were you doing?"

Ghazan sighed. "I didn't expect us to lose. Zaheer said that the poison should have killed the avatar. And I figured that I should take care of you while we waited for him to come find us. But he never did and I guess I was too focused on you that I didn't notice anyone getting near us and I was knocked out by one of the metal benders."

Ming hua looked away from him. "Why didn't you finish those kids off?"

"Hey Bolin isn't that bad, and he was the only other person I met that could lava bend." Ghazan began. "But when I saw his brother return, I knew something had happened to you, we had already lost P'li and I didn't want to lose too."

Ming hua glared at him. "So you threw the fight to come save me, well why couldn't you have grabbed me and have gotten out of there, we wouldn't be in this mess. Now we're going to lose our bending." She swallowed. "And all that work I had to putting into learning it only to be nearly killed by that kid."

"Like I said, I didn't think that Zaheer was going to lose." Ghazan reminded. "And you didn't know that kid could lightning bend."

"It doesn't matter." She mumbled. "Zaheer lost to the avatar in the avatar state, P'li lost to one of the best metal benders in the world, you threw your fight to play the hero and I lost to a teenager, a rookie cop no less."

"Ming hua, he got lucky." Ghazan said. "Bringing the avatar into the avatar state was a bad idea without P'li there. Zaheer wanted to go through with it anyway and that is why we lost." Ghazan paused.

She had thought about asking if he had found anyway for them to escape, but then she remembered that they were being monitored.

"Did you hear what happened to P'li?" Ming hua finally asked.

Ghazan looked down. "Yes Bolin told me. I had to convince him too because he figured I'd be better off not knowing, but I know."

They were both quiet.

"It was quick right?" Ming hua half asked half stated.

"I think so. I don't think she even knew what happened." Ghazan said. "At least I hope not. I wonder if she got a burial."

They were both quiet. Ming hua wondered that if they were ever allowed out, if they could go to the place where she had died and put up a small memorial.

Finally Ming hua asked, "So which two out of three were correct?"

Ghazan's eyes widened. "Which two do you think?"

"I'm not in the mood for any games, just tell me." Ming hua ordered rolling her eyes.

Ghazan breathed. "I completely threw that fight because I didn't want to lose you; there is no one else I would have done that for."

Ming hua felt her face redden. She looked down and then looked back at him. "It's not because I was your only other option?" Thirteen years was a long time to go without human contact, Zaheer and P'li had each other to hold, so both of them were out and it wasn't like it was safe to find another person.

"I've liked you for a long time." Ghazan responded. "I thought about you often in that prison, it was one of the few ways I kept myself from losing my mind. I wondered where you were being kept, if you were still alive, and how you were being treated."

Ming hua's face only got redder. She wasn't quite sure how to respond to any of it. "Why didn't you tell me any of this along time ago! You were always spending the night with other women. Why not me?"

"Those were only one night stands. Those are easy. I wanted something more with you." Ghazan explained. "We worked well together, we got along, I liked being around you, but I couldn't tell if you wanted a relationship with anyone. I didn't want to make things uncomfortable between us and I especially didn't want to make you uncomfortable. I gave you a few hints but you didn't react well to them so I decided to not bother you with anymore."

"I'm not used to people liking me like that." Ming hua said. "I wasn't sure if that is what you were doing!"

Ghazan looked at her. "So you too?"

Ming hua nodded.

Ghazan sighed, "Well there is not much we can do about this in prison. I doubt that they would ever let us share a cell."

"They absolutely wouldn't." Ming hua rolled her eyes wondering why that thought would ever cross his mind.

Their time was soon up and they were escorted back to their cells. One of Ming hua's escort looked at her smiling.

"Well that was really sweet. I knew there was more to you than anger and bitterness."

Ming hua's eyes widened and she blushed. She had forgotten that their conversation had been monitored.

"Just forget everything you heard."

* * *

><p>AN: I was trying not to make the Mingzan moment cheesy. I'll probably read that last part in a few days or weeks and be completely mortified and rewrite it. Romance is not my strong point. I wasn't sure if the characters were too upfront.<p>

So in this chapter, I was trying to not write Su as a bitch but not perfect either. I also wanted to make Ming a little vulnerable but not a complete victim, with a side of her ruthlessness, though trying to act in a way that wouldn't piss off Suyin too much. (Though she kind of did)

And seriously, trying to figure out how to even write the White Lotus prison situation. Realistically, these characters would have severe psychological problems from being in those prisons. I also don't want this to be a big angst fest, but after being in those prison for thirteen years, believing that one of your friends was killed, and failing again, and to be thrown back into a prison, it would be a bit unbelievable if there wasn't a little.

Also trying to figure out how to incorporate some backstories and how far in depth to go and gotta jail break those two soon.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: This chapter is for the Mingzan shippers. And I realized that I was writing Ming-Hua's name wrong. The Tumblr tag has it as Ming hua so now I'll be going back to previous chapters and changing it.

* * *

><p>The day came that Ming-Hua was finally allowed to go outside into the prison yard. She knew that she would have escorts, but she was surprised when four metal clan soldiers approached her cell. She vaguely recognized the leader of the group.<p>

"Kuvira, are you sure this is a good idea?" One of the soldiers asked. "She'll be a lot of trouble if she finds any water."

"It's what they want and they figured that it would be best if they had us take her outside. They figured we could handle her." The woman, now known as Kuvira replied. Kuvira then looked at Ming-Hua. "If you try _anything _know that you will be brought back inside, and it won't be pleasant for you."

"Yes I know!" Ming-Hua didn't even look at her. Kuvira was probably nearly a decade younger than her.

Kuvira frowned. "If you give me attitude you can stay in here."

Ming-Hua wanted to say something further but she did want to go out so she kept quiet.

"Here are the rules;" Kuvira began. "No going near the bathrooms. If it starts to rain, we will bring you back inside immediately and it will not be fun for you. All water fountains have been turned off, so don't even bother trying. If you do find a source of water, we will not hesitate to use force to restrain you. Understood?"

Ming-Hua nodded.

"You'll get to go out once a week for an hour." Kuvira continued. "If your behavior is good you may get more time outside."

"Good." Now let's go.

The other three soldiers did not say anything to her. They walked with two in front and two behind her. The guard in front, who was not Kuvira, would glance back at her every so often with the same stern look on her face.

"Last time I saw you, I didn't think you were going to make it in here." Kuvira said as they neared the exit. "I thought I was going to have to carry you to your cell."

So that's where Ming-Hua had recognized her. She remained quiet. She did not want to talk to Kuvira.

The prison yard was divided into three sections. A women's section, a men's section, and in between, a co-ed section. The soldiers had backed off some when they had gotten outside, letting her choose where she wanted to go. The Ming-Hua headed straight to the co-ed section looking for Ghazan. Another prisoner, a woman much taller than her, shoved her with her elbow.

"Hey!" Ming-Hua yelled and was about to run at the woman when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you want to go back in?" Kuvira said firmly.

"But she just-"Ming-Hua began but was interrupted.

"We're not going to worry about her." Kuvira stated. "And what were you thinking anyway? She's much bigger than you."

"I could have taken her." Ming-Hua mumbled and entered the co-ed section. She spotted Ghazan almost immediately and walked quickly over to him. Ming-Hua looked to see where her escorts were, and surprised to see that they were giving more space than she expected. They hung back about twenty feet.

She finally looked at Ghazan, feeling a little nervous. After their talk a few days ago, this meeting felt awkward. Things were now different.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey." She repeated.

"You're looking better." Ghazan commented eyeing her.

Ming-Hua frowned. "You need to work on your compliments." She responded. She knew exactly what he meant. She was no longer dehydrated and she had gained a little bit of weight. It probably helped that she wasn't constantly on the move and that she wasn't sharing whatever food they could find between four people. But she was disappointed that was the first thing Ghazan had said to her.

Ghazan suddenly looked a little worried. "No, I meant, you don't look as sick as you did after we got you out of the prison…"

"Like I said, you need to work on your compliments." Ming-Hua looked away from him.

"You're pretty?"

"Too late."

The two went and sat with their backs against the prison wall. They were as far away from both sets of their escorts as was allowed. Ming-Hua inched in close to Ghazan to see if their escorts would allow it, and of course, because she wanted to.

"So how have you been?" Ghazan quickly changed the subject.

"Fine." She said. "But I think they hate me." Ming-Hua looked at the metal clan soldiers.

"What did you do to make them hate you?" Ghazan asked raising his eyebrows.

"Nothing much. They were at the air temple the day we got caught." Ming-Hua explained. "I don't think they're over it."

"You have their soldiers watching you? You should be honored. I only have regular prison guards. They must think you're dangerous." Ghazan looked towards her escorts.

"Yeah well I have no idea what they think I'm going to do." Ming-Hua frowned. "There is absolutely no water out here and what little moisture I could pull out of the air won't do much."

Ming-Hua looked around to see what the other prisoners were doing. Some were playing games, others were talking, there were prisoners that were obviously lovers and were getting very cozy with each other, and a few others just sat and looked bored. She then looked at the layout of yard. The yard was in the center of the prison. It would be very difficult to make an escape without water or earthbending. She looked for any possible routes of escape, anything to climb over, any overlooked pathways that would lead out and there were none. If they wanted to break out they would have to run through the building where they would come across several guards.

"So about the other day…" Ghazan began.

"I forgot they were listening to us!" Ming-Hua cut him off and cringed as she remembered that sappy little love confession. "Now some of the guards think it is cute. We're hardened criminals! Our relationship isn't cute! I should have waited until now to ask you about that two out of three."

"We're in a relationship now?"

"What?" Ming-Hua's eyes widened.

"I'm just kidding." Ghazan laughed when he had gotten the reaction he wanted from her.

"Really!" Ming-Hua was now angry. "I've been stuck in that jail cell for over a month; I'm not in the mood for that!"

"Alright I'm sorry." Ghazan apologized. "So about this relationship..."

"I don't know, how are we even supposed to have one in here?" Ming-Hua groaned. "I have four soldiers watching me, you have four guards watching you. All we can do is… talk."

"Well, they said that after we lose our bending, we might eventually be let out. We just can't leave the city." Ghazan informed though he didn't look at all happy with that option.

Ming-Hua hadn't heard any of this. "Then what? What do we do? What am I supposed to do? Are we going to have a place to live? We spent years of our life sitting in small prison cells, what can we do?" She looked around the prison yard once again to see if she had missed any possible escape routes.

"I don't know what we would do." Ghazan said after thinking for a moment. Then he whispered, "I've tried to find a way out of here, but it doesn't look like it's going to be possible. And if we did get out, we would be running from the White Lotus for the rest of our lives, and possibly the avatar."

Ming-Hua sighed. Living without her bending just sounded terrible. Alternatively, if they had found a way to break out of prison, running from the White Lotus for the rest of their lives also sounded awful, but it was preferable to losing her water bending.

"It is going to be hard for me to lose my earth bending, but I can't imagine how this is for you, considering that you use your waterbending to make your arms." Ghazan sympathized. He wrapped his arm around her and she leaned into him.

"It's not just that." Ming-Hua said sadly. "If I wanted to be taken seriously I couldn't be just okay, or good, or even great, I had to be one of the best. Otherwise, everyone would just say how adorable it was that I could waterbend, or that what I was doing was dangerous to myself and others or even that I could have been one of the best but this holds me back." She shrugged her shoulders. "So I had to work hard and I had to teach myself. And it's all going to go to waste."

"I didn't realize." Ghazan held her tighter. "It sounds like the Avatar is going to be sick for a long while, maybe we'll have enough time to find a way out of here, or at least convince them to let us keep our bending."

"I highly doubt that they are going to let us keep our bending." Ming-Hua rolled her eyes. "They don't trust us to come out here on our own."

"Wow what did she do to get locked in here?" Ming-Hua overheard another prisoner. She turned to see him looking at her.

She straightened herself up and quickly responded. "I tried to kill the avatar and I was with the man who killed the earth queen. I also took down several of the Dai Lee." The prisoner, and the group he was with, just looked as though they weren't sure that they should believe her.

Her time outside was almost up. Ghazan gave her a quick hug and she laid her head against him, the only way she could return it. Then she pulled away and stood up.

"Is that all I get?" He asked looking a little disappointed.

Ming-Hua looked back at the soldiers to see that they were walking towards her. She whispered. "If you find a way to get us out of here, you'll get more."

* * *

><p>Far from Zaofu, where the city could only be seen in the distance, two people stood. One towered over the other and burn scars all over her face, the worst being on the left side. Her left eye had a cloth bandage over it. On her forehead was what remained of a tattoo.<p>

"But they're being treated okay?" The woman asked.

"Compared to their last prisons, yes. " The smaller figure, a woman said. "Are you going to break them out?"

"I can't walk through that city without being noticed. Last time my friends and I were there it ended in disaster." The woman said. "I need to find Zaheer first."

"That is going to be impossible." The shorter woman said shaking her head. "He's an airbender, they probably have hidden far underground."

"I know," the tall woman responded. "But he'd find a way to get them out."

"You know, P'li, you still don't look well, you need to rest."

"I'm fine." P'li insisted.

* * *

><p>AN: Yes I brought P'li back. I figured she's good enough of a firebender that she could have controlled that explosion. I wanted to give her a different ending and don't worry she's not going to be completely okay from nearly blowing up her head. (Though it was actually her entire body there was no headless corpse left behind.)<p> 


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